Rebel Stakes 2016

 

– you must be of legal age in your state or province to legally wager on thoroughbred or harness horse racing. Please bet responsibly! 2017 Rebel Stakes Contenders. With a full field signed on for the 2016 Rebel, the race had the look and feel of a wide-open wagering event with at least half of the 14 runners looking like legitimate win candidates. Rebel Stakes History First run in 1961, the Rebel Stakes is an important part of the Oaklawn Park spring 3-year-old series, and an important lead-up to the Arkansas Derby. It’s also included in the first part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship series. The first four home are. The Rebel Stakes is a thoroughbred race for three year olds with a purse of $600,000 Guaranteed. Of which, 60% goes to the Owner of the winner, 20% to second, 10% to third, 5% to fourth, 3% to fifth and 2% to be divided equally among all other starters.

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The Triple Crown is the most anticipated event in horse racing, but before we can get there, we need to pay mind to the Rebel Stakes. Last year’s winner made history, after all, so all eyes will be on Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to see who wins and if they have the goods to follow in the footsteps of American Pharoah.

It’s quite a reach to assume as much, especially since American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, but what we’re looking for is the potential for dominance.

Any horse can be lauded as fast, sneaky or even a favorite, but is there a horse in the lot that can win the Rebel Stakes and then march through the 2016 Triple Crown? It seems unlikely, but we have to start somewhere.

Rebel Stakes Odds

The Rebel Stakes is chock full of Kentucky Derby contenders, and how they fare here could go a long way in determining both if they’re locked into the first leg of the Triple Crown, as well as if they’re a real threat to make a run at a sweep.

For now, we can just consider what is in store for the 2016 Rebel Stakes, which fires off on Saturday, March 19th.

Here are the top contenders with the best odds:

  • Suddenbreakingnews (3/1)
  • Cupid (7/2)
  • Whitmore (7/2)
  • Creator (6/1)
  • Madtap (6/1)

The Favorites

Rebel Stakes 2016

The odds state the obvious, but Suddenbreakingnews is the clear favorite to run away with the Rebel Stakes. The horse lacks great experience, but does have a win, including the Southwest Stakes.

It’s also comforting to know Suddenbreakingnews has at least placed in every single race. He’s been a bit inconsistent from race to race when it comes to winning, however, which could throw some people off the scent this weekend.

Experts are high on Cupid, who enters a pretty soft field and is guided by legendary trainer, Bob Baffert. Half of the last 10 winners at the Rebel Stakes have – you guessed it – been trained by Baffert. Cupid has been hot with a win and top-two finish, and could have his work cut out for him to top Suddenbreakingnews out of the middle (4th spot). Nevertheless, he remains one of the top contenders.

Creator and Madtap obviously have solid odds and are the only other colts with better than 12/1 odds in this race. That makes it beyond obvious that this pool isn’t very deep, but it also could put greater emphasis on Whitemore being a real threat to take first.

Rebel Stakes 2019

Whitmore enters the 2016 Rebel Stakes not far behind the leader and shares the second best odds with Cupid. We need to pay mind to Whitmore, who was running well before tiring out in his last race and has finished in the money in every race but one. That second place finish in the Southwest Stakes should be more encouraging than bad, and could show us how Whitmore can get past Suddenbreakingnews.

Top Sleepers

Creator and Matap could qualify as sleepers, but they round out the top-five. Instead, we need to look to Cherry Wine as the top sleeper that could emerge out of the pack.

Cherry Wine ties with Ralis and Discreetness with 12/1 odds coming into the Rebel Stakes, and could be a viable contender due to winning it’s last two starts in dominant fashion. It’s taken time for Cherry Wine to get to this point and it’s entirely possible he’s just a flash in the pan, but if you want a middle-ground bet that could stand the test of time in this race, this could be the pick.

Ralis and Discreetness are your other sleepers, but Discreetness doesn’t seem to want to run long and Ralis has one win that at this point feels more fluky than a sign of things to come. The public perception could be wrong on both here, but the writing does appear to be on the wall.

Will We Find Our Champion?

It depends what answer you’re looking for and how you interpret the question. Is this year’s Rebel Stakes winner going to move on to claim the Kentucky Derby? Possibly.

Are they going to run the table and win the Triple Crown? That’s doubtful. We hadn’t seen a horse win horse racing’s Super Bowl since 1978, and now we’re to expect it to happen in back to back years? It feels like a significant reach.

As for the 2016 Rebel Stakes, we’re going to roll with Whitmore. He ran out of gas in his last defeat, but it’s still possible he’s Suddenbreakingnews’ top competition going into this race.

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The Rebel Stakes is a Grade 2 race held annually at Oaklawn Park as the second leg of the track’s three year-old stakes program that also includes the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. Inaugurated in 1961, the Rebel Stakes has always been run at the mile and one sixteenth distance. The purse for the 2015 Rebel Stakes was increased to $750,000 from $600,000. The race is part of the Kentucky Derby qualifying points system with the first through fourth place finishers earning 50, 20, 10, and 5 points respectively.

The Rebel has a well-established history of producing winners that go on to enjoy Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown success. 1980 Rebel winner Temperance Hill triumphed in the Belmont over Derby winner Genuine Risk and Preakness winner Codex. The 1990’s proved to be a successful decade for the Rebel with 1992 winner Pine Bluff winning Preakness, and 1998 winner Victory Gallop using the Rebel as a springboard to wins in the Arkansas Derby and Belmont. Victory Gallop also famously ran second to Real Quiet in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before ending the latter colt’s bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1979. [+]

In the new millennium, Smarty Jones became the first of a string of prosperous Rebel graduates, winning the Arkansas Derby, Kentucky Derby, and Preakness before losing the only race of his career in the Belmont, falling just short of capturing the Triple Crown in 2004. The Rebel witnessed a string of major horses in the years following Smarty Jones with Lawyer Ron (2006), Curlin (2007), and Lookin at Lucky (2010) all becoming extremely successful racehorses, each winning at least one Eclipse Award. Curlin went on to win the 2007 Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Classic, while running third in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont en route to Horse of the Year Honors. In 2008, Curlin won the Dubai World Cup, and several other major stakes races to repeat as Horse of the Year and retire with more earnings than any thoroughbred in American racing history.

The impressive feats of past Rebel winners has continued in recent years with 2012 Rebel hero Secret Circle winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 2013, and falling just a neck short of duplicating that feat in 2014. In 2013, Will Take Charge was an unproven commodity before his Rebel victory, but went on to win the Grade 1 Travers and Grade 1 Clark Handicap, while running second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic to claim Three Year-Old Colt of the Year honors at the Eclipse Awards. 2014 winner Hoppertunity won the Clark Handicap and is considered one of the top horses in training in 2015. Vanlandingham holds the Rebel speed record, stopping the timer in 1:41 flat in 1984.

Rebel Stakes Betting Odds

When there’s a solid contender in the field such as American Pharoah was for the 2015 Rebel, savvy handicappers know the best chance to cash a big ticket is usally found by putting the favorite on top of a exacta or trifecta, and then putting a combination of other horses undeneath. In the Rebel, 5-1 Madefromlucky and 8-1 Bold Conquest under the winner produced a $2 trifecta payout of $28.80. You can put another 5% cash bacl on top of that, when you place that bet through Bovada’s racebook.

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* REMINDER! –you must be of legal age in your state or province to legally wager on thoroughbred or harness horse racing. Please bet responsibly!

2017 Rebel Stakes Contenders

With a full field signed on for the 2016 Rebel, the race had the look and feel of a wide-open wagering event with at least half of the 14 runners looking like legitimate win candidates. The field included the 1-2 finishers from the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes with winner Suddenbreakingnews and runner-up Whitmore returning as the respective favorite and second-choice. But in the end, the bettors and morning line oddsmaker did not lose sight of Cupid, who despite having just three starts and a maiden win to his credit, was sent to post at odds of 3/1 for trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert. And just like Baffert had done in 5 of the previous 6 years, the Hall of Fame trainer managed to saddle yet another winner perhaps even overshadowing Cupid’s impressive gate-to-wire performance. The gray son of Tapit looked to be in trouble in the stretch with Whitmore making a furious rally around the turn, but Cupid found another gear, pulling away for a length and a quarter win. The victory gave Cupid 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and marked the improving colt’s second win in as many tries in two-turn races.

2016 Order of Finish: Win Place Show

1st: Cupid $7.80 $5.00 $3.80

2nd: Whitmore $5.20 $4.00

3rd: Creator $4.80

Rebel Stakes 2020 Video

(Also Ran: Cherry Wine, Suddenbreakingnews, Gray Sky, Discreetness, Cutacorner, Spikes Shirl, Ralis, Z Royal, Madtap, American Dubai, Siding Spring)

Rebel Stakes 2020

Check back closer to race day for 2017 Rebel Stakes contenders!